OSCP has practical, hands-on experience in which you get 24 hours to pop a certain amount of boxes. You also write a pentesting report afterwards which contribu

OSCP has practical, hands-on experience in which you get 24 hours to pop a certain amount of boxes. You also write a pentesting report afterwards which contributes a certain number of points. Then they pass/fail you. They have a lab environment and a curriculum, and I think a forum and video tutorials for you to practice with before you actually pony up for the exam. It is one of the widely well-regarded certs because it doesn't simply test knowledge, but your ability to do a practical thing that infosec companies are looking for. From what I've read (I don't have this cert) you need to cover a lot of knowledge bases to actually pass it anyway, chief among those is enumerating networks and vulns. Some of the other certs are treated like software engineering certs (that is, not really well regarded except in cases of consultancy body shops needing simple qualifications for their clients)